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Charlotte Mason’s Living Math: A Guided Journey Video
$14.95 – $24.95
A practical step-by-step demonstration of how Charlotte Mason taught elementary arithmetic from beginning numbers through fractions. See full description
Join Richele Baburina and Sonya Shafer as they demonstrate step by step how Charlotte Mason taught math in a practical and life-related way from beginning numbers through fractions.
This parent resource is designed to help you fully grasp the methods Charlotte used to teach math. With these videos you will
See how Charlotte Mason infused math lessons with living ideas.
Learn how to teach elementary arithmetic without an expensive curriculum, or gather ideas to supplement your curriculum of choice.
Discover how short, focused math lessons can reinforce good habits.
Gain confidence to guide your student in steady math progress at his own pace.
Video Contents
More than 3-1/2 hours of practical living math demonstrations.
7 reviews for Charlotte Mason’s Living Math: A Guided Journey Video
Samara –
This looks great! I am curious, if it is used well, could I use this to teach the first few grades of math with no other curriculum?
Thanks!
Jordan Smith –
Yes, you should be able to take the concepts learned in this DVD and teach math for the elementary. You would probably also want the Mathematics: An Instrument for Living Teaching book for the complete details on each topic.
Alicia –
Your curriculum guide recommends RSM or MUS. I was just wondering how this would compare with these?
Sonya Shafer –
Great question, Alicia. The DVD and book represent what we are learning about how Charlotte Mason taught math. RightStart and Math-U-See are what we used with our children. They have some of the same principles in their approaches, but neither is a fully CM math curriculum. We haven’t found one of those yet.
We used MUS and RS because they both emphasized the Why behind the How, as Charlotte did, and they both used manipulatives. We liked that MUS encourages the children to narrate what they are learning and allows the child to move at his own pace. We were drawn to RS’s alternatives to worksheets and flashcard drills. Both can be tweaked to keep lessons short.
As we learn more about true CM math, we see more and more differences. MUS uses writing much more than Charlotte did in the early grades. RS uses card games, rather than mental math, for review. Neither uses guided discovery the way Charlotte did (as demonstrated on the DVD).
Ideally, you could use the CM math book and DVD to teach math to your children the CM way. However, we know that many moms are not confident doing that and need the support of already-written lessons. Plus, they need advanced math courses laid out too in the high school years. So we give you options: a full written curriculum that we are familiar with and that follows some CM principles and a detailed explanation and demonstration of Charlotte’s true methods. And we keep looking for that magic fully-CM math curriculum that will do both!
Alicia –
Thank you, thank you Sonya! I love how SCM gives hs mothers choices for those who are in different seasons of life and at different levels of discovery in their CM teaching. It is so practical. We use RSM and MUS both and enjoy them both quite a lot. I am very curious to know if you have looked at MEP?
Can’t wait to purchase this resource!
Sonya Shafer –
No, I have not yet been able to give other math curricula the close and thorough investigation that I’d like to. And my preference would be to solidify and expand my own knowledge of true CM math methods first, so I can come to fair and accurate conclusions.
Alicia –
Wise words. That makes a lot of sense! Thanks!
Alicia –
Hi Again Sonya!
I received the CM Living Math bundle and just finished watching the first DVD and looking over the book. It looks wonderful. What a treasure SCM has provided. RSM does seem to be a match in several ways to the information presented here, but like you said, it is not a perfect match. Could I continue using RSM with my son and just supplement with Ray’s/Straton’s mental problems? Since I have already started with RSM (he is almost through level B), would you or Richelle have any other thoughts on what I could do to supplement? Thanks!
Sonya Shafer –
Please do what you think will work best for your son, Alicia. You could continue RSM and supplement with mental work and maybe paper sloyd. You could tweak RSM and approach it more in a CM fashion. You could set RSM aside and teach the math concepts with only the CM methods, if you feel comfortable doing that. Whatever you choose, make sure your son (and you) are seeing the beauty and truth of math and feeling at home in its mountainous land.
Alicia –
Okay, if I decide to set RSM aside, would I just start at the very beginning of the CM methods and just slow down when things get a bit challenging for him? The answers to my questions about all this are probably so obvious, but for some reason I feel fairly inadequate in teaching math.
Sonya Shafer –
Since he’s almost through Level B, I wouldn’t think you would need to start with the number recognition at the very beginning. But working with those numbers with manipulatives, adding and subtracting them with little scenarios, doing most of the work verbally, writing a sum only once in a while as a treat — those kinds of things I would go back and do to make sure the ground is secure under his feet. And as you said, when you come across something that is challenging, you’ll know when to slow down and stay put for a while.
Thanks again! I also wanted to mention that your enthusiasm for CM’s math methods and just math by itself really came through in the DVD. It was wonderful!
Samara –
This looks great! I am curious, if it is used well, could I use this to teach the first few grades of math with no other curriculum?
Thanks!
Jordan Smith –
Yes, you should be able to take the concepts learned in this DVD and teach math for the elementary. You would probably also want the Mathematics: An Instrument for Living Teaching book for the complete details on each topic.
Alicia –
Your curriculum guide recommends RSM or MUS. I was just wondering how this would compare with these?
Sonya Shafer –
Great question, Alicia. The DVD and book represent what we are learning about how Charlotte Mason taught math. RightStart and Math-U-See are what we used with our children. They have some of the same principles in their approaches, but neither is a fully CM math curriculum. We haven’t found one of those yet.
We used MUS and RS because they both emphasized the Why behind the How, as Charlotte did, and they both used manipulatives. We liked that MUS encourages the children to narrate what they are learning and allows the child to move at his own pace. We were drawn to RS’s alternatives to worksheets and flashcard drills. Both can be tweaked to keep lessons short.
As we learn more about true CM math, we see more and more differences. MUS uses writing much more than Charlotte did in the early grades. RS uses card games, rather than mental math, for review. Neither uses guided discovery the way Charlotte did (as demonstrated on the DVD).
Ideally, you could use the CM math book and DVD to teach math to your children the CM way. However, we know that many moms are not confident doing that and need the support of already-written lessons. Plus, they need advanced math courses laid out too in the high school years. So we give you options: a full written curriculum that we are familiar with and that follows some CM principles and a detailed explanation and demonstration of Charlotte’s true methods. And we keep looking for that magic fully-CM math curriculum that will do both!
Alicia –
Thank you, thank you Sonya! I love how SCM gives hs mothers choices for those who are in different seasons of life and at different levels of discovery in their CM teaching. It is so practical. We use RSM and MUS both and enjoy them both quite a lot. I am very curious to know if you have looked at MEP?
Can’t wait to purchase this resource!
Sonya Shafer –
No, I have not yet been able to give other math curricula the close and thorough investigation that I’d like to. And my preference would be to solidify and expand my own knowledge of true CM math methods first, so I can come to fair and accurate conclusions.
Alicia –
Wise words. That makes a lot of sense! Thanks!
Alicia –
Hi Again Sonya!
I received the CM Living Math bundle and just finished watching the first DVD and looking over the book. It looks wonderful. What a treasure SCM has provided. RSM does seem to be a match in several ways to the information presented here, but like you said, it is not a perfect match. Could I continue using RSM with my son and just supplement with Ray’s/Straton’s mental problems? Since I have already started with RSM (he is almost through level B), would you or Richelle have any other thoughts on what I could do to supplement? Thanks!
Sonya Shafer –
Please do what you think will work best for your son, Alicia. You could continue RSM and supplement with mental work and maybe paper sloyd. You could tweak RSM and approach it more in a CM fashion. You could set RSM aside and teach the math concepts with only the CM methods, if you feel comfortable doing that. Whatever you choose, make sure your son (and you) are seeing the beauty and truth of math and feeling at home in its mountainous land.
Alicia –
Okay, if I decide to set RSM aside, would I just start at the very beginning of the CM methods and just slow down when things get a bit challenging for him? The answers to my questions about all this are probably so obvious, but for some reason I feel fairly inadequate in teaching math.
Sonya Shafer –
Since he’s almost through Level B, I wouldn’t think you would need to start with the number recognition at the very beginning. But working with those numbers with manipulatives, adding and subtracting them with little scenarios, doing most of the work verbally, writing a sum only once in a while as a treat — those kinds of things I would go back and do to make sure the ground is secure under his feet. And as you said, when you come across something that is challenging, you’ll know when to slow down and stay put for a while.
Richele answered some questions relating to this on our forum. You might find those discussions helpful as well.
Alicia –
Thanks again! I also wanted to mention that your enthusiasm for CM’s math methods and just math by itself really came through in the DVD. It was wonderful!
God’s Blessings
Alicia